UConn Ends W. Soccer NCAA Run

STORRS, Conn.—The Harvard women’s soccer team’s season came to an end Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 defeat at No. 13 Connecticut.

Although the end came earlier than the team would have liked, the Crimson (11-6) was still pleased with the way it played at NCAAs—especially given its 2-4 conclusion to the regular season.

“We turned it around after those [Ivy] lossses,” said co-captain Caitlin Costello, who was Harvard’s leading goal-scorer. “We went out in style. We may have lost the game [to UConn], but it was not easy for them to win. We did everything we could.”

Just like last year, the Crimson managed to lessen the sting of a fourth-place Ivy finish by playing strong in the NCAA tournament. Harvard’s epic quadruple -overtime victory against Hartford last Thursday made the Crimson one of just 10 programs nationwide to reach the second round of NCAAs each of the past five seasons.

“I think we had some great moments early [in the season], but I think we lost focus,” said Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton. “We forgot the work that goes into winning. One of our real objectives this weekend was to take advantage of that second chance that the NCAA provides, not so much by winning— which is nice—but by playing the way we know we want to play, and we did that these last two games.”

Of the four Ivy teams that made NCAAs, only Dartmouth made it to the Sweet 16. The Big Green received one of the easiest draws in the tournament and advanced to the third round with a wins over UW-Milwaukee and Michigan.

Penn and Princeton, like Harvard, were both eliminated by teams from the Big East Conference—Villanova and Rutgers, respectively.

UConn 1, Harvard 0

The No. 23 Crimson showed few ill effects from its quadruple-overtime victory over Hartford early on, but midway through the second half, the Huskies began to take control.

UConn (18-5) had been applying consistent pressure on the Harvard net in the minutes before the game-winning goal. The scoring opportunity came about as Huskie midfielder Alexa Borisjuk took control of an errant ball and sent it wide left to forward Kristen Graczyk,. She came into the box all alone and left-footed the ball across the net into the right corner for the score.

“We won the ball, we kept possession, we defended well, and we created oppoortunities,” said UConn Coach Len Tsantiris. “When you do that, you’re going to win the game. It was a matter of us finding the time and connecting up front to finish.”

It was tough turn of events for the Crimson, who had come close to scoring just several minutes before the UConn goal, when junior forward Joey Yenne was nearly sprung free inside the 18, but she was ruled offsides by a step.

Harvard had few quality scoring chances on the day. One of its best chances came early in the game when junior midfielder Bryce Weed made a great individual effort to set up Costello with an open shot from 15 yards out. But Costello sent the ball straight into the hands of Huskie goalkeeper Shanna Caldwell.

The only other Harvard shot on goal came from junior forward Beth Totman a few minutes later.

“I don’t think we generated enough great chances today,” Wheaton said. “I think we weren’t as careful with the ball as I would have liked to be. But overall I was pretty happy.”

The UConn defense, led by Big East Defensive Player of the Year Casey Zimny, did not allow a goal in two games against Harvard this season.

“[Zimny] is a great player,” Wheaton said. “She organized real well and she cleaned things up a lot.”

Immediately after giving up the first goal, the Crimson came back with some pressure on the UConn defense, but from then on, the Huskies came closer to doubling its lead than Harvard came to erasing it. With 15 minutes left, Borisjuk headed the ball behind Harvard goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther off a free kick, but Gunther reacted quickly and stopped it cleanly.

The Crimson also allowed Huskie junior Salla Ranta to get two open looks at the net off crosses, but she could not finish either. UConn outshot Harvard 16-5 for the day.

UConn advances to the Sweet 16, where it will face Penn State. The Huskies have made the NCAA quarterfinals each year since 1993.

Harvard fell to 3-21-1 all-time against UConn. The Crimson’s 1-0 win at Storrs two years ago is its only win over the Huskies since 1981.

Ivy Honors

Naturally, several Harvard players earned honors when the Ivy League announced its awards last Thursday. Sophomores Katie Westfall and Caitlin Fisher were the team’s two First Team selections.

Westfall was the team’s biggest playmaker with two goals and seven assists for the season. Though her scoring numbers were down from her freshman campaign, she assisted on two of Harvard’s biggest goals of the season—overtime game-winners against Yale in September and against Hartford on Thursday.

“Katie is just the kind of player who has a touch on the ball that every team needs,” Costello said. “She’s our general on the field.”

Fisher shined in her transition from outside midfielder to the backfield this season. In the NCAA tournament, she single-handedly stopped several Hartford and UConn scoring bids in dazzling fashion.

“Caitlin [Fisher] is a very physical player, which made her very dangerous,” Costello said. “She’s just one of the most athletic kids we had, and she’s capable of outbattling anyone.”

Sophomore back Liza Barber earned Second Team All-Ivy honors, and Gunther earned honorable mention. Besides being a stifling defender, Barber has been Harvard’s most prolific source of offense on corner kicks., the most memorable instance being a game-winning header against Marquette.

Gunther was a physical presence in net while handling all kinds of pressure this season.

“Our defense has kept us in games all year long,” Wheaton said. “They’re just strong, athletic, they clean up a lot. They do a great job.”

Among the forwards, Yenne, the team’s overall leading scorer, was named to the Second Team, while Totman, the team’s leader in game-winning goals, earned honorable mention.

Weed—once a freshman All-American before suffering through an injury-plague sophomore year—also earned honorable mention last week.